The South/Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District (the “District”) recently announced that a contract was awarded to the J.D. Northrup Construction Company of Ellicottville to build Phase I of the Chautauqua Lake Westside Sewer Extension to Stow.

This is good news for the Lake and good news also for the people living along Route 394 between the BOCES School and Stow. Many of the properties here, especially those right along the lake, are located “cheek to jowl” with insufficient room to ensure adequate septic systems. Soon, these residents will not have to worry about pollution from their own or their neighbors’ toilets and wastewater–the effluent from these homes will be going “downstream” to the sewage treatment plant in Celoron.

According to the News Release making the announcement, construction should begin later this summer and run through spring 2023.

One of the questions I get asked is “how far up the lake will this extension go?” The answer to that is that it will go as far as the hamlet of Stow. That means that it will pass under the I-86 Expressway and end, generally, in the area of Hogan’s Hut. It will also go down along Stow Ferry Road to the lake and pick up sewage from homes and cottages in that area.

One of the factors in establishing the size of pumping and pipes along the way has been the planning for a Phase II project which would carry the system further north and west as far as Prendergast Point. It is important to be sure that the sizing of Phase I is large enough so that it will be able to eventually transport additional sewage coming from this part of the lake. When both Phase I and Phase II are completed, the entire western shore of Chautauqua Lake will have public sewer service.

This project has been a long time in coming. Like all public projects it has not been easy. A myriad of permits and other legal documents were required. Future estimated sewage collection fees had to be determined. The boundaries in extending the District had to be drawn. Engineering had to be completed. Most important of all, the funding had to be committed so that the project was affordable. Without government aid from Albany, the project would not have been possible.

Some years ago, I wrote in this column about the “unsung heroes” who work for the Sewer District. A lot of work and effort had to go into getting this done. At the same time, the day-to-day work of collecting, transporting and treating existing sewage had to be continued. “Hats off” to the board and the public employees of the District for finally kicking this Westside Sewer Extension project into “the end zone.” Let the construction begin!

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.